South Asia’s compensation systems leave sexual violence survivors waiting

A new SAMAJ report says survivors of sexual violence across South Asia often cannot access compensation they are legally owed because the systems are underfunded, uneven and hard to use. The findings point to major gaps in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives and India, and call for stronger funds, faster emergency support and better enforcement.

Why it matters: - Sexual violence can create immediate and long-term financial harm, including medical bills, counselling, transport, legal costs, relocation, lost wages and reduced earning potential. - When compensation is delayed or unavailable, survivors may be pushed toward informal settlements instead of formal justice. - The report says stronger compensation systems could help survivors stay in legal processes and reduce impunity for perpetrators.

What happened: - The South Asian Movement for Accessing Justice, or SAMAJ, released The Good Practices Paper on Compensation for Survivors of Sexual Violence in South Asia. - The report examines compensation schemes in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. - SAMAJ says many systems are underfunded, inconsistently implemented and difficult to navigate.

The details: - Survivors often must wait through investigations, trials and administrative steps before compensation is paid. - Many survivors and justice officials lack clear information about compensation schemes. - Low conviction rates and slow fund disbursement also block access. - In places without interim support, survivors can face a choice between a long legal process they cannot afford or an out-of-court settlement under pressure. - Coerced settlements are widespread across South Asia, the report says. - In Pakistan, judges have broad discretion over compensation after conviction, and many survivors receive none. - In Bangladesh, courts awarded compensation in just 6.8% of reviewed rape cases. - Bangladesh also does not have a national victim compensation fund. - Dalit and Adivasi women, Indigenous women, religious minorities and children born as a result of rape face additional barriers tied to discrimination, poverty and exclusion. - Women with disabilities face access problems because information may not be available in accessible formats and public offices may not be physically accessible. - In the Maldives, services such as forensic capacity, counsellors, shelters and legal aid are concentrated in Malé and a few other urban centers. - The Maldives’ island geography adds cost and timing barriers to medical and forensic documentation. - Sri Lanka has a statutory Victims' Assistance and Protection Fund, but access remains uneven, especially for survivors in conflict-affected areas, Tamil communities and other marginalized groups. - In Nepal, survivors of the 1996-2006 civil war remain largely excluded from compensation because no legal mechanism for conflict-era reparations has been enacted. - India and Nepal are identified as the region’s most developed models because compensation does not depend on a criminal conviction. - Nepal’s Crime Victim Protection Act 2018 created a central Victim Relief Fund to pay compensation when an offender cannot. - India requires states to fund victim compensation schemes, uses Legal Services Authorities to process claims, and treats compensation as an enforceable right under constitutional jurisprudence. - India’s Supreme Court recently directed courts nationwide to consider compensation in all sexual offence cases. - Manjula Pradeep of the National Council of Women Leaders said one Dalit survivor in Uttar Pradesh used government grant assistance to leave home for safety, return to court and pursue a law degree.

Between the lines: - The report suggests the biggest failure is not the existence of compensation laws, but the gap between legal promise and actual delivery. - Systems that tie relief too closely to criminal convictions tend to exclude survivors in cases that are delayed, unresolved or settled informally. - The regional comparison points to India and Nepal as practical examples other South Asian governments could adapt.

What's next: - SAMAJ is calling for national victim compensation funds in Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Maldives that do not depend on a criminal conviction. - The coalition wants interim disbursement systems so survivors can access emergency help for medical care, psychosocial support and transport. - SAMAJ also wants stronger enforcement of court-ordered compensation, annual public data on awards and payments, and standardized victim fund guidelines. - The group is urging governments to make information available in local languages and accessible formats. - SAMAJ is also calling for explicit reparations frameworks for conflict-related sexual violence in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The bottom line: - SAMAJ says compensation should function as a reliable right, not a privilege that depends on geography, court discretion or a survivor’s ability to endure a costly legal process. - Divya Srinivasan of Equality Now said India and Nepal show another path is possible, and governments should legislate, fund and enforce compensation so survivors can depend on it.